You're gambling that the new revised portfolio will get you in where you want to go.  If it still doesn't work, then you have wasted your effort and time.

Why are you married to Columbia or MIT.  Prestige, or is there something specific about the program that fits your career goal when you get out?  Be honest about your motives.  And don't forget to consider the financial implications.  For most architects, where you went to school diminishes rapidly in importance after your first couple of jobs.  It's what you can do, not what your piece of paper on the wall looks like.

I am not going to lie but there is a bit of Prestige involved. But the course at Columbia M.S. AAD, is really something that I wanted to do. It is a perfect mix of research and design which was something that I found to be in sync with my interest. The reason I am even considering applying again is that a friend of mine got in and our portfolios and grades are pretty much the same. Would it be a wise idea to inquire with Columbia as to what made them reject my application and then maybe I can give it another shot. I know it feels like I am being too ungrateful cause VTech is also a great program. But please let me know if you guys have any advice.

If you need an entire year to rework a portfolio of existing projects...your time management skills need some serious work, in the meantime Frank Gehry is teaching an online course in architecture.

Asking the school why you didn't get in is not a good idea, for a few reasons: 1. It brands you as high maintenance, so may hurt you if you plan to reapply; 2. If you get any response at all it won't usually be from those who were directly involved in the admissions process - more typically it will be from administrative staff or an academic advisor - so whatever they have to say may be too generic to be useful, or may have nothing to do with whatever the issues actually were; 3. If you do manage to talk to someone who was actually on the admissions committee they may have no recollection of your portfolio or what discussion there was about it - if any.  The programs you mentioned get about 800 applications a year and admit a small fraction of them.  For all you know you could have been weeded out in the first week of deliberations, with no more than one or two of the committee members ever opening your portfolio.  4. Next year's admissions committee may be made up of mostly different people, so even if you knew what this year's committee thought it won't necessarily help you with next year's committee.  I went through grad school with a classmate who had tried several times, been wait-listed once and rejected outright twice, before finally getting accepted on the 4th try - but all with the same portfolio!

I would not attend VTech if your intent is to try to reapply to other schools.  Transferring during an M.Arch program is unusual - some programs accept no transfers at all in some years - and when it does happen the second school typically wants you to start over at the beginning of their studio sequence, so even though some of your other courses may transfer it will end up taking an extra year.

If I were you and I were dead set on reapplying, I wouldn't spend this coming year at any school - I'd spend it getting some work experience, and maybe taking on some community involvement - both because these will be good for your professional development and understanding of the profession, and because they'll strengthen your application in future.